Manuscript promissory note issued to Isaac Gleason for services rendered at the request of General Selah Hart (1732-1806). Farmington, Connecticut, 16 April 1752. 1 page, 7 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches.

According to the note, Hart engaged Gleason as an express rider for a journey of "9 miles" from Farmington to Simsbury, Connecticut. Express riders  were expedient messengers tasked with quickly delivering messages, official documents, and British intelligence to local militias. Gleason's route, at nine miles, was relatively short, as riders were required to cover distances of 100 miles or more.

Selah Hart was born into a prominent Connecticut family that had lived in Hartford County since the town's founding in 1635. Hart took over his family farm by the 1770s and later joined the Revolutionary cause in May 1776 as a lieutenant-colonel with the 15th Regiment of Militia. That summer, Hart was sent to reinforce the harbor in New York, where he was captured and taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island. Hart was freed in an officer’s exchange and in 1779 was appointed Brigadier-General of the Sixth Brigade of Militia for Connecticut.  After the war, Selah was sent as a delegate to the State Convention for the adoption of the Constitution in 1788, and continued to be an influential citizen in Connecticut.

[Colonial America, 13 Colonies, Thirteen Colonies] [American Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Declaration of Independence, Colonial America, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]